by Johnny Concannon 

Is the GOP at a crossroads, as has so often been mentioned these last few weeks?  No, I don’t believe so.  Republicans today possess the same bedrock convictions in 2008 as they did in 2000 & 1980, for that matter.  What I see as the problem – hold on now – is the same as what liberals face from the far left in their party.  A loud, forceful minority of, dare I say, sanctimonious conservative activists have stolen the mic and become the voice of the Grand Old Party.  It’s no different than the ‘MoveOn’ crowd et al. becoming the voice of the Democrats and in the process forcing them hard to the left (anti-military, anti-surge, anti-anything-short-of-ending-the-war-tomorrow) and away from the more sane moderate ground where President Clinton, in all fairness, had remade them viable presidential contenders. 

The GOP elite quite clearly enunciated that Rudy Giuliani’s personal issues were too much to give him lasting legitimacy.  Mitt Romney hadn’t been a conservative long enough in their opinion.  Ron Paul – well, I’ll leave Congressman Paul alone.  John McCain was an afterthought – he imploded – his campaign was out of money; he was supposedly so out of touch with republicans, conservatives, especially that he had not a chance.  What happened?  Mike Huckabee filled the vacuum.  Sure, he was quick witted, a former pastor, great in debates, attracted some much needed young voters with his populist message, bass guitar playing and easy manner.  But what happened when you scratched the surface a tiny bit: not only did he lack the resources to carry on past Iowa or South Carolina with any true effectiveness but people saw the slickster, fast talking persona, spewing contradictory statements he made so consistently on the trail for what they were.  Huckabee would make a great Chair of the RNC where he could sell, sell, sell.  

I watched Brit Hume essentially remark this morning on ‘FoxNews Sunday’ that conservatives who had been waiting around for the next Ronald Reagan have no one to blame but themselves.  A more prescient remark could not have been uttered.  Bill Kristol followed up noting the fact that although conservatives are rallying to Romney now, they SHOULD have been beating his drum prior to Florida, not after McCain’s revitalized and endorsement laden victory changed the face of the campaign – giving conservatives across the nation pause.  We’ve been so stuck in the muck looking for the next Ronald Reagan that we lost sight of the forest through the trees. 

Diane Sawyer once remarked, “I am always fascinated by the way memory diffuses fact”.  We have forgotten during this election cycle that Ronald Reagan was once pro-choice; a spiritual man but not a church goer; had a family dynamic that was less than ideal, sans his marriage to Nancy; and the topper – for a great portion of his life he was a Hollywood Democrat!  So in a way, even Ronald Reagan was not Ronald Reagan.  Now, I’m not attempting to diminish his legacy – he was a wonderful president and rightly deserves to be considered in the pantheon of the greats – but he had personal conversions in his life journey that America, and republicans especially, accepted. 

Oh, wait….you were waiting for Fred Thompson, “the true conservative”, to get in the race.  I see.  Well, you should seriously reassess your outlook.  Senator Thompson is a gifted politician, a dedicated American and terrific actor but in the end – his campaign was a media creation!  A campaign that peaks before candidacy is declared stands proof positive of that assertion.  He was not the next Reagan.  There is no next Reagan.  Reagan was one in a million and I’m happy to have lived my formative years during his presidency.  We should honor him with his just due – by stop trying to compare every presidential candidate to the Gipper.  Let him rest peacefully knowing he changed the face of the Republican Party forever and as even Barack Obama admitted, “the trajectory of America”. 

I give credit to Hugh Hewitt and others who understood from the jump that Mitt Romney was the most viable conservative candidate for so many reasons - enough to write a book about, in fact.  Was he a conservative from conception? No.  Did he have to take positions in order to work effectively with the Massachusetts legislature, while still maintaining a focus on free-market solutions?  Yes.  Is he an effective communicator?  Yes.  Was he consistent during his governorship voting along conservative lines?   Yes.  Was he consistently pro-life as governor?  Yes.  Has he been successful in every darn thing he has ever engaged himself in: education, family; business, politics and the turnaround of one of the most grossly deficient Olympic organizations in modern history?  A resounding yes. 

What more do/did we need folks?  There is a choice now and one what will have to be made quickly – do conservatives rally around John McCain, and in the process abandon many core principles in the process?  Or, do they sufficiently rally around Mitt Romney and provide him the support necessary to propel him to the nomination and eventual contest against a weaker Democratic candidate?  We shall see on Tuesday how much of that sanctimony was real or contrived. 

This Bostonian is a Romney supporter and I assure you has long been proud of it!